The S4 League
by VindictusUSA
Summary: The world's most popular sport, the S4 League. Hitomi possesses the last katana in the whole world. After a tragedy, she's taken in by the Legionnaires. Later on, an evil plot to take over the world is uncovered. Hitomi is thrown knee-deep into the chaos as friends fall victim one by one to the Virus. Rated M for violence and sexual content later on.
1. Chapter 1: New Beginnings

**Hey everyone!**

**So this is a new story that I'm going to try and work on while I work on The Reaper.**

**This is also one of my other favorite games, S4 League.**

**Hope you like this fanfic too :D**

* * *

The world's most popular sport. It has more fans and players than soccer, football, basketball, baseball, and rugby combined. The sport is known as the S4 League. The "S4" represents the four sections of the world, the North, South, East, and West. This sport is popular with everyone, even little children and elderly people. The typical age group of players who enter range from early teens to middle aged men and women.

The best part of this sport is the ultimate grand prizes at the end of each League. The grand prizes are alarming amounts of PEN! In all of the games, except for Battle Royale, the grand prize for the team that becomes the victor at the end of each season will win ten million PEN! For Battle Royale, the grand prize is ten times that amount. Do that math, and you'll realize that it's one hundred million PEN! The S4 League starts with thousands of teams entering, but only one team will win the grand prizes at each individual game. So get out there and train til you break to win!

Sekigahara village was located near a beautiful beach in Seto, Japan. Just a couple miles away from the village, there was a beach resort. The one thing the resort is well-known for is that it was a popular place to stay for S4 League teams.

The whole world worships these players, but not this village. Everyone in the village, including Hitomi Masamune, hated the League players. They would often run by the village during their training sessions and disturb the flocks and trample all over the fields and farms. Numerous complaints have been filed, but nobody did anything about it.

What made the hatred grow even more was that the arrogant S4 League players would always disturb the peace by stealing, vandalism, etc. and there was nothing Hitomi or her fellow villagers could do about it.

Hitomi is one of the few villagers who don't judge a player based on the fact that they are a League player. She has actually met a few League players who are kind and friendly. Most of them though are typically girls. It's the men she despise. They would constantly fawn over her and attempt to touch her inappropriately like she was their personal whore.

It's moments like these where she wished her genetic coding didn't make her a beautiful girl. Hitomi was sixteen years old. She was about average height which is 5"6, but beyond that all other uses of the word "average" were tossed right out the window. Hitomi had a heart-shaped face framed by intensely black hair that fell in layers of straight hair at the top and curls that gradually descend from her ears. She had fair skin, ample breasts, high cheek bones that models would have sold their children for, and a set of heart-stopping curves. The brown of her eyes were so dark that the irises looked black.

In other words, she's the perfect girl to drool over by perverted men.

* * *

One day, without expecting it, her life and the life of her village would change forever. Hitomi was working in the fields alone collecting strawberries. She was humming her favorite tune as she plucked the perfect strawberries one by one.

"Mind if i try one?"

The voice startled her. She turned to her right and there stood a tall man. He looked like he could've been a super soldier. Large build, twenty-five inch biceps, legs that could probably kick a bank vault's door down, and an eight pack. She saw the team logo on his League outfit, it was two swords shaped into an "X." He was a member of the Legionnaires Team.

"Oh, yeah, go ahead," she replied. She continued plucking the right strawberries and placing them in her basket.

The man plucked a strawberry from a plant and examined it before biting a chunk off of it. He reveled in the taste of its perfection and softly moaned to himself.

"Now that's a bloody good strawberry," he said.

She could tell he was British by his accent.

"The name's Charles Patrick, but you can call me Charlie."

"I'm Hitomi Masamune, nice to meet you."

"Do you require any assistance? Seems like a lot of work for one person."

She noted that he didn't say _girl_. "No, but thank you, I'm fine on my own," she smiled.

"Well then," he bowed, "It was nice meeting you Hitomi. Have a pleasant day." He dashed off with his Iron Boots after a playful salute.

"What a nice and polite man," she said to herself.

After a while she picked up her full basket of strawberries and began the venture back to her village. The sun was setting and she was just a few miles away from her village when she noticed a large pillar of black smoke rising from where the village is.

She gasped, "oh no. . ." and dropped her basket. She leapt into a sprint and ran as fast as she could to the village. Not realizing how fast she was running, she was already at the village entrance in less than a minute.

What she saw froze her.

The villagers, friends and family, she knew were scattered all over the floor. They weren't in one piece. Arms and legs were tossed everywhere. The scent of blood was strong in the air. And in the center of the village stood three men. From their outfits, she knew they were League players.

She hid behind a haystack and heard their frustrations.

"Fuck! Where is it?!" A man in his mid-twenties yelled.

"It has to be here, my source is never wrong!" A larger man said. He looked like he could be Arnold Schwarzenegger's big brother.

"Forget it!" a young boy who looked fourteen said, "Let's go before the cops come!"

"Fuck!" the mid-twenties man yelled.

A moment later, they sprinted past Hitomi. They didn't even see her.

Hitomi snapped out of her shock and ran into the inferno.

"Mom!" she cried out. The intense heat and smoke made it difficult to breath. Everywhere she looked, there were body parts laying all over the place. Blood was spattered everywhere. It horrified her to the core.

She ran towards her house and inside.

"Mom!" she cried out in horror. Her mother was laying on the floor. One of her legs had been dismembered. Beside her was a long, thin box firmly gripped by her mother's hand.

Hitomi ran to her and helped her onto the only foot she had. Hitomi held the box in the other hand she wasn't using the support her mother.

"Hitomi?. . ." she said weakly.

"Don't worry. . . I'll get you out of here and into a hospital. . ." she said though coughs.

They made it to the village entrance as the first wave of fire fighters and law enforcement officers arrived. The Emergency Medical Teams immediately took them away from the unbearable heat of the inferno. Hitomi's mother was rushed to the hospital while an EMT medic attended to her at the back of the paramedics truck. A detective asked her a series of questions concerning how the fire started.

"Thank you for your time," the detective said, "I'll bring these perpetrators to justice." He bowed before leaving.

The medic who was attending to Hitomi's condition was shocked, "your clothes saved you from receiving any burns!"

Hitomi always wore a turtle neck sweater and a pair of jeans. It surprised her as well.

The EMT medic smiled, "at least your beautiful skin isn't touched."

Hitomi gave a weak smile, her mind was centered on the long, thin box she held.

_Was this what they were after? And if it is. . . Why'd they kill so many innocent people!_

She was very angry at the League players who took everything from her. Her friends and almost all of her family were murdered. Her home was burned to the ground.

_All for what? Because they couldn't find what they were looking for?! Because of. . . THIS?!_

Her sorrow was mixed with her anger. The medic noticed her internal turmoil and tried her best to comfort Hitomi.

"Hey. . .the detective will find whoever is responsible for this and bring them cold justice," she assured.

"I hope he finds them before I do. . ." Hitomi says coldly.

This shocked both of them. Hitmoi realizes that she wouldn't even stand a chance against those League players if she encountered them.

* * *

**Two hours later. . .**

Hitomi sat outside of her mother's operating room. The long thin box was resting on her lap. A combination lock prevented her from opening it. Moments later, the doctor in charge of her mother's operation emerged from the room.

Hitomi shot up from her seat anxiously, "how is she?"

She pleaded to God that her mother was going to be okay.

The doctor sighed, "I'm very sorry, Hitomi, we cannot operate on your mother. She has a blood type that we do not have in our blood bank. It would take weeks for a new shipment of them to arrive. Your mother has already lost a lot of blood. I'm very sorry, but she only has a few hours left before she passes on. Her bleeding won't stop and we've done the best we could."

Hitomi didn't sob, but tears managed to escape her eyes.

"Your mother wants to see you when you're ready." The doctor bowed, "Again, my apologies and condolences. . ." He slowly walked away, grief-stricken, this would be one of his few patients who died under his care. He left Hitomi alone to weep.

After regaining her composure, she picked up the box and went into the room. Her mother saw her and asked the nurse tending to her to let them have privacy. The nurse bowed before exiting the room.

Hitomi pulled up a chair and sat next to her mother's side. She placed the box down and held her mother's cold hand.

It pained Hitomi deeply to see her mother in such a ghostly condition. She always saw her mother as a strong woman. Ever since her father died from a fatal car accident, Hitomi's mother had been strong for her. To see the strong woman who she respects and loves caught in the nets of Death hurt Hitomi deeply.

"Hitomi. . .my beautiful daughter. . ." she said through a raspy and weak voice.

"I don't want to lose you too like dad. . " Hitomi says through tears.

"Don't be sad my daughter. . .I've raised you to be a strong, independent woman."

"You didn't prepare me for this though. . ."

". . . Hitomi, I don't have much time left."

"How am I going to survive on my own without your guidance? . ." Hitomi asked.

"You'll find a way, Hitomi."

After a few moments of silence, Hitomi's mother asked for the box. She entered the right combination and the box clicked open.

"This has been passed down for generations. . keep it safe, it's the last of its kind. It belonged to our great ancestor, Date Masamune: The One-Eyed Dragon."

Hitomi was handed a cloth-wrapped sword.

"This katana was one of his mighty fangs," her mother said.

Hitomi removed the cloth. The katana was alarmingly long. The hilt alone was ten inches long and the blade was a shocking fifty-five inches long. The sword was almost as long as how tall Hitomi was.

_How did anyone ever use a katana like this? _It was physically impossible to wield such a weapon.

There was a note in the box. It was then that Hitomi looked up at her mother. Her face had become pale and suddenly the heart monitor beeped a sustained tone.

"Mom?" She placed the sword and the note in the box.

Hitomi tried to wake her mother as reality slowly seeped into her existence. "Mom, don't leave me alone, please!. ." Hitomi finally succumbed to her sorrow as she wept.

* * *

**Moments later. . .**

The nurse stepped into the room after Hitomi was done weeping.

A familiar man stood next to the nurse. It was Charles, the man she met earlier in the morning.

"This is Charles Patrick, he has volunteered to be your temporary legal guardian for the time being."

He noticed the heart monitor and realized that Hitomi's mother had left this life.

"I'm sorry for your tragic loss," he said. He bowed with respect to Hitomi.

She searched for any sign of mockery in the blonde man's azure eyes. She could not find any trace. She slightly nodded in acknowledgement and thanked Charles.

She wrapped the katana in its cloth and slid the note into her pocket.

"Shall we go and show you your new home?" he asked politely.

Hitomi nodded and quietly followed Charles out of the hospital. He stopped her in front of the Teleportation Gate.

"A couple things I should probably caution you about my team," he says, "One, they really love new members. They have lots of fun and great energy. Brittany would love to have you with us since she's the only girl in our team. Also, some of the guys might not leave the best first impression for you, but give them time and you'll find that they're really down-to-earth decent men-"

"Wait, wait. . .you're saying all this as if I'm a new team member of your team. . ." she says.

"Took quite a whole for you to catch on didn't you?" he chuckled.

Hitomi gasped as she realized what he was saying.

Charles smiled, "Welcome to the Legionnaires, Hitomi Masamune."

Hitomi was shocked, "B-but I don't even know how to fight. . ."

"You bloody well do, but you just don't know it yet." The tone in his voice startled her.

Hitomi arched an eyebrow, "What do you mean?"

"Well for one, I've never seen anyone run as fast as you did earlier this evening."

"Wait, how-"

He put up a hand, "I went about my daily training with my Iron Boots and you just flashed right by me. How did I know it was _you? _I followed you halfway before my energy was spent from using the boosters on the Iron Boots. You are very fast, young lady. I thought you were a bloody ninja when you disappeared in the blink of an eye," he chuckled.

"Still. .how does running prove I have potential in fighting?"

"It's not the running, dear. It's the fact that you were fast. You basically gave the phrase 'God Speed' a run for its money. Literally," they both laughed.

"Okay, I am fast, but, how does that-"

"Your katana requires lightning fast and precise strikes," he pointed to the covered katana, "and your katana loves being able to move fast. It's a deadly weapon when its allowed to perform lightning fast strikes."

Hitomi was shocked, "How did you know about the katana?"

"I knew your mother, Hitomi. She trusted me to keep the katana a secret until you were ready."

"What do you mean?"

"Read the note that she gave to you."

Hitomi remembered the note suddenly and pulled it out of her pocket. She unfolded it and read it to herself.

_Hitomi, my beautiful daughter. If you're reading this note, it means I'm no longer with you._

_I just want to say that I apologize for not being the mother you've always wanted me to be._

_But I wanted to raise you as a strong and independent woman._

_You've grown so much, my daughter._

_If you're reading this, I believe that you are ready to be handed this family treasure._

_Keep it safe, it's the last of its kind._

_All of the master craftsmen that created this master piece have died off and their secrets with them._

_One by one this sword has become a victim to the S4 League players who use them like baseball bats._

_The sword you are currently holding is now probably worth a trillion PEN. _

_Hitomi, what I'm about to ask you, you don't have to follow my instructions._

_I want you to choose your own path._

_What I'm about to ask you is to restore the honor of the Samurai._

_The League players have made a mockery of the samurai way for too long.  
_

_I saw great potential in you. _

_Show all of mankind that the samurai way is to not be made a mockery of._

_Again. . . you do not have to follow this path, it is of your own choosing._

_These are my last words, good bye my beautiful daughter. _

_I hope only the best for you. Make me proud._

Hitomi's tears flowed slowly from her eyes as she read the note from her mother.

Charles stood there the whole time, silent and respectful. He bowed again, "my condolences."

"Thank you. . .Charles."

"Please, call me Charlie."

They walked into the Teleportation Gate and Charlie punched in the desired location. The gates closed as tether rings started to spin around them. Magical energy was channeled through them and Hitomi felt a soothing warmth as she and Charlie were teleported from the hospital.

* * *

**Phew! Well, this is my first S4 League story.**

**I hope this caught your attention.**

**Thanks for reading and more chapters will arrive soon.**

**Post a review or your thoughts.**

**Constructive criticism would be nice as well ;-)**


	2. Chapter 2: The Legionnaires

**Hey guys!**

**Sorry, this chapter is gonna be slightly boring due to introductions.**

**And just a shout out to VampiressVella: Thank you for your positive reviews on my stories :D**

* * *

Hitomi and Charlie were teleported to the main lobby of the Sekighara resort in the blink of an eye.

Charlie checked in with the desk clerk and told the clerk about Hitomi. The clerk registered Hitomi under Charlie's name.

In the elevator, Hitomi felt extremely nervous.

Charlie noticed this and gave fatherly pats on Hitomi's back, "Nothing to be nervous about, Hitomi."

"What if they don't like me?"

"Nonsense, I'm sure they will!" he said with a chuckle.

The elevator doors opened and they stepped into a luxurious pent house. In the living room, there was a balcony from which you could walk out onto and observe the breath-taking scenery of the ocean.

"Welcome to your new home, Hitomi," Charlie says with pride.

Hitomi examined the beautiful and luxurious pent house. She observed each major room, the kitchen, the recreation room, the lounge, there was even a room where you could practice your fighting on a realistic simulator!

She saw all these amazing things, then looked at herself. She realized that she was still filthy.

"Is there a place where I can clean myself up?"

Charlie pointed to the hall to the right of the living room, "just down the hall, there's a bathroom at the end. I'll slide a set of new clothes under the door for you."

Hitomi thanked Charlie and ventured down the hall. She noticed that it was quiet, except for the TV that Charlie switched on.

_The other Legionnaires must be out somewhere._

She walked into the bathroom with her katana and locked the door behind her. She undressed and removed her filthy clothes and turned the shower control to "boiling hot" and stepped into the spray.

* * *

Charlie sat on the couch watching the current Cube Defense game that was currently on.

He constantly criticized the Red Typhoon Team for their lack of teamwork.

"No, no, no! You're gonna get your medic killed you morons!" he shouted.

He flipped the channel to the current Touch Down game after painfully watching the King destroy the Cube.

He watched the Gladiators team and the Black Knights team battle for the ball on Station-1.

Touch Down was the second most popular game in the S4 League. It was also Charlie's personal favorite to play. The Legionnaires Team was registered for all of the games in the S4 League except Chaser, Siege, and Cube Defense. Most of the other team members preferred the Death Match game over Touch Down.

Charlie particularly did not like Death Match because every team they went up against was full of themselves.

Hardly anyone liked Siege Mode since it was boring to watch or even play. But the most popular game in the S4 League, was Battle Royale. Everyone loved this game because it's a free-for-all type game. But mainly because the grand prize was a hundred million PEN. You can only register one team member from your team into this game. The Executioners Team leader, Greg Martin, has been the reigning champion for this game five years in a row. Constantly boasting to the world of his prowess.

Each team could register for every game in the League. Touch Down only allowed four players from each team. Death Match allowed only three players from each team. Cube Defense allowed only four players. Siege Mode allowed up to eight players. Battle Royale only allowed one member from each team.

A typical team consists of usually six to eight players. A few teams have more than eight. And even fewer people are solo players, these people usually do Battle Royale only.

Charlie watched the Gladiators Team expertly score a Touch Down as the elevator doors to the pent house opened.

"Welcome back," Charlie says to the team.

"Hey," they all say.

The Legionnaires had eight members, now including Hitomi, total. Six guys and two girls. Brittany, the other girl, was the same height as Hitomi. She had long, straight blonde hair that was always tied into a braid. If she wasn't a League player, she could have easily been a beautiful bikini model without even trying.

Charlie and two other men had short blonde hair. The other two men were named Henry and Derek. They were twins who had the same medium build, and looked like Andrew Seely. These two were usually never agreed on anything, but they are good brothers to each other.

The last three men had short brown hair. One of them was a tall Korean named Brandon. He was often told that he looked like the K-pop star Kim Jonghyun.

One of those three men is named Chris. He was a tall dark-skinned man who was bigger and older than Charlie. The team calls him Family Man because he was thirty-five years old with three kids.

And the last of those three men is John. He was the youngest of the group, before Hitomi came, at eighteen years old. He was an American white guy who often got into lots of fights with the other teams. He lost his parents to murder when he was twelve. Charlie and the team found John when he was seventeen. He was beating the living hell out of his bully. They were impressed by his fighting skills and took him into the team. At first glance, he looked like he could've been a successful actor in Hollywood because of his good looks. But in reality, he's hard to keep out of trouble. When you get to know him though, he's actually a decent young man. He gives his winnings to orphanages and performs lots of unselfish acts of charity.

Brandon looked at the TV screen and saw the current Touch Down game. He jumped into a seat next to Charlie, "who's winning?" he asked with child-like curiosity.

"The Gladiators are thrashing the Black Knights, my friend," he replied.

"Oooooh!" All the guys except John and Brittany exclaimed when the ball carrier was launched from the map. A Black Knight with a storm bat was responsible.

"Men," Brittany scoffed. "I'm going to hit the shower."

It was then that Charlie remembered about Hitomi, "Oh, wait a moment, someone's in there Britt," he said.

Everyone looked at Charlie like he had been keeping a secret.

"Who?" Brittany asked in a polite tone.

"She's a new member, her name is-"

"You finally recruited another girl?!" Brittany screamed in excitement.

"Is she hot?!" Brandon elbowed Charlie repeatedly.

"She's way too young for you, so back off," Charlie said with obvious disgust. Brandon and the twins were twenty-eight years old. Chris was thirty-five years old. Brittany was twenty-one and Charlie was thirty-one years old.

"Then how old is she?" Derek asked.

Henry slugged him playfully, "don't be such a creeper."

The twins wrestled each other on the floor.

"I got them," Brittany sighs.

"She's sixteen-"

"Eyy! John finally has someone around his age!" Brandon jokes.

"Shut up. ." John says half-annoyed and half-amused.

"Hey, Britt," Charlie says, "Could you fetch a set of new clothes and undergarments for Hitomi and slide them under the bathroom door for her? I think she's about the same size as you."

Brittany finished separating the twins and ran down the hall toward her room.

"Oooo, her name is Hitomi eh?" Brandon said. He had pronounced her name like Hit-on-me.

Chris walked up to the couch behind Brandon and planted a fist on Brandon's head.

"Ow! What was that for?!" he exclaimed. He held his head where it was hit.

"Back off man, you're way too old for her. She probably won't even like your bitch-ass," Chris said. His three kids were daughters and two of them were teens. He felt like he needed to protect Hitomi from Brandon's perverse nature.

"So why did you take her in?" John asked.

"I knew her mother really well, and she was murdered recently. I'm her new guardian for the time being to prevent her from being put into an orphanage.

This caught John's attention, he was an orphan himself and knew all of the pain and hardships that come with being an orphan. "Who murdered her mother?" he asked.

Charlie didn't say who, but everyone in the resort except Hitomi knew. The Executioners team came back from their "business" earlier during the evening when the Legionnaires were in the restaurant eating. They were boasting that they've "burned down the annoying, poor of an excuse village." Everyone knew that it was them.

John realized this and quickly approached the elevator doors.

The twins blocked the entrance.

"Get the hell out of my way," John challenged.

"John-"

"I don't give a fuck who the Executioners are! Or the fact that their punk-ass leader, Greg, is the son of the CEO of the whole S4 League! It does not justify that they can kill whoever they want!"

Derek held John to the nearest wall when he tried to force his way through them, "look, kid, we all know how you feel about this, alright?! We all want those men to get what they deserve! But there is nothing. . ._ nothing_ we can do about it without getting into serious trouble."

John took a moment to take deep breaths and let his rage disintegrate, "right. . sorry."

Derek released his hold on John as Brittany walked in, "What did I miss?" she asks in confusion.

"Nothing," John says as he steps out onto the balcony.

Charlie explained, "Hitomi's home was that village the Executioners burned down. Everyone she knew and loved is dead."

"Oh. . . so that's why she's taking a long time in there. ." Brittany looked back down the hall, "poor girl, must be mourning in there. ."

Everyone was silent. John could hear what she was saying and tightened his grip on the safety railing on the balcony in anger.

After a few moments, Chris tried to change the mood, "hey, I think that ball carrier for the Black Knights is about to tie the game."

The ball carrier was sprinting to the goal. He turned the last corner and a blue flash killed him. It was a Gladiator member with a rail gun. The ball carrier's body was teleported back to the spawn point as the rail gunner reset the ball.

In S4 League, before each game started, the officials would place a device on you. It activated a shield that would protect you from serious injury or death. As soon as the shield disappeared, you would be instantly teleported back to the spawn point where you wait seven seconds for it to recharge. There have been incidents where the shield deactivates when your Health Points hit zero, but you aren't teleported back. The result is commonly fatal wounds and injuries, even death can occur. The S4 League shield manufacturing team has taken extra measures to ensure that the devices never malfunction, but it's still a one in a million chance that it happens.

"Not anymore," Charlie jokes.

"Such great aim that chick has. ." Brandon sighs.

"You sure it's the aim that you're admiring?" Derek asks.

"Shut up!" Brandon retorts.

Everyone laughed.

The timer on the Touch Down game hit zero and the game ended.

The Gladiators Team will be moving on in the season while the Black Knights still have time to catch up.

"Oh. There's one thing I have to tell you guys about Hitomi," Charlie says.

Everyone anxiously waited for his response as he sighed.

"She wields the last katana in the world."

* * *

Hitomi looked at the pair of clothes that were on the floor before her.

_Oh my god. . This is so. . . _

Hitomi slid on the undergarments, the bra was tight on her chest.

_I'll have to buy a new one. This is too small. But size 34D is too expensive!. . ._

Hitomi sighed, "well. . . it's all I have to wear for now," she says to herself.

She slipped on the black tank top and blue jean shorts and looked at herself in the bathroom mirror.

_I've never showed this much skin before. . . _

She had always worn clothing that concealed most of her body except her hands, head, and feet. Now that she was looking at herself in the mirror, she felt. . . bare.

She brushed the thought away and used the hair dryer to dry her hair. She picked up a comb that was in the medicine cabinet and fixed her hair to the way she liked it. Straight at the top and curls that descend gradually from her ears. She grabbed the lotion that was in the cabinet and applied it to her smooth and pure skin.

_This must be Brittany's bathroom. All these products are girl products._

She saw the make up products that were on the shelves behind her. Hitomi had never worn make up before, she didn't think she needed to since she was often told that she was beautiful without it.

She heard a commotion outside of the bathroom.

_Oh man. . . the rest of the team is already here. _

She began to feel nervous.

"Come on, Hitomi. Don't be nervous. Charlie said they were friendly." She said to herself.

She grabbed her katana that was leaning against the wall and opened the door.

* * *

"What?!" They all exclaimed.

"Sssh! Keep it down, she might hear you. ." Charlie said.

"I thought all the katana were destroyed!" Brandon said, obviously jealous that Hitomi had one.

"They weren't, the one she has is literally the last of its kind." Charlie says, "and this isn't any ordinary katana either. This katana belonged to the great Samurai shogun Date Masamune: The One-Eyed Dragon."

The twins gasped, they were geeks when it came to Asian History.

"No way!" they both said in unison.

Charlie nodded, "anyways, this is no ordinary katana either. This was one of the six fangs of the One-Eyed Dragon. And I believe that the one she has is the most deadly of them all. Imagine a katana that has a blade of fifty-five inches long and a hilt at ten inches long. . ."

Charlie looked at everyone's expression, even John was amazed at the size of the katana.

"Is it even possible to wield such a long weapon?" Brittany asks, "if it were a stave than I would understand, but holding a sword at the hilt with the blade _that _long. . . it wouldn't be a good balance. ."

"Sssh! I think she's coming out of the bathroom!" Brandon whispers.

John stepped back in from the balcony to get a look at Hitomi.

* * *

_Oh my god, _she kept repeating in her mind.

She stepped out into the living room and looked at everyone who had their focus intensely on her.

She blushed and felt the temperature around her rise a hundred degrees too much.

"Whoa!" Brandon cries out, on the verge of exploding, "she's hot!"

Chris punched Brandon again. As Brandon cried out in pain, everyone laughed.

Charlie got up and stood next to Hitomi, "everyone, this is Hitomi. Why don't we go around the room and introduce ourselves?"

Brittany volunteered first, "Oo! Me!" she said with excitement.

She ran up to Hitomi and hugged her, "Hi! I'm Brittany, and I'm sooo excited to hear that you've joined the team."

Everyone around the room introduced themselves.

"Hey, I'm Derek," Henry got Derek in a headlock, "and I'm Henry!"

"Knock it off you two," Chris says, "My name is Chris, it's a pleasure to meet you Hitomi."

"Name's Brandon," he said while still gripping his head from Chris's punch.

"John," he said, "nice to meet you." He was blushing a little, _Wow, she's really beautiful_. He thought to himself.

"It's nice to meet all of you," Hitomi bowed to conceal her blushing.

Brittany straightened Hitomi's posture, "Oh don't worry about formality, we're all a family here. So no more of that formal stuff okay?"

Hitomi slowly nodded, "okay. . ."

"Oh you're so cute! We're going to have lots of fun together!" Brittany hugs her again.

Brittany kept rubbing her chest against Hitomi's making her uncomfortable. Brandon was taking in the sight while John looked away.

"Well that's it for introductions, how about we head down to the ball room for dinner?" Charlie suggested.

"Yeah!" Everyone except Hitomi shouted.

She liked the Legionnaires. The friendly energy they exerted made her feel like she was one of them. She smiled a genuine smile as they descended to the main lobby in the spacious elevator.


	3. Chapter 3: Sinister Plot

**Welcome back to another chapter of, The S4 League!**

**Unfortunately, there is going to be more information. Sorry!  
**

**But I promise that there will be action. . . well, there is a sex scene in here so yeah.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

The leader of the Executioner, Greg, woke with a smile on his face.

The big sliding window was open to the evening breeze and the scent of roses and honeysuckle.

Greg got out of bed and walked barefoot across the chair where he'd left his robe. He shrugged it on and stood on the balcony to watch the sun slowly descend behind the ocean horizon. He took a deep breath and let it out as a long and contented sigh.

Behind him he heard his girlfriend, Ophelia, stir. A soft sound, warm and vulnerable. A rustle of the sheets as she turned over, then the deep, slow sound of a sleeper far below the surface.

He didn't look at her. Preferring instead to remember the way she looked at noon. She had teleported to Seto, Japan from London and showed up in a black dress that clung to her curves like a second skin. The delight he experienced in peeling that faux skin from her, revealing a white satin bra and matching thong. Those were on the floor with the rest of their clothes.

God, he'd been a lion this afternoon. A tiger.

A beast.

He made her scream when she came, and when he came inside her the first time he roared like the beast he was.

That's how it always was with her.

It was never that with with his ex-girlfriend.

She was a cold fish who had to be stoned or smashed before she spread her legs. And the world would have to be burning down to its last hour before she'd open those thin and prissy lips to give him a blow job.

He wondered how she felt when he dumped her.

Probably relieved. The more distance she created between them, the less often she had to feel like a fuck-buddy.

Anger began to creep into his mood and he forced it down, letting memories of this afternoon wash it out of him. He turned and leaned on the balcony railing to watch the woman sleep. Silky blonde hair spilled around her like fine lace. The curve of one shoulder and one breast, a nipple that was pink against the soft golden tone of her skin. Greg though she was perfect the way God made her. Appealing to each one of his five senses.

Not bad for the ego either.

Though he had to wonder if it was a bigger ego hit for her than she was for him.

Four-time reigning champion of Battle Royale in the S4 League and the son of the CEO of the S4 League. Even if she couldn't tell anyone, she knew she was banging the guy who was one heart beat away from being the most powerful man in the world. A man who had, in fact, been the CEO twice. Once when his father had bypass surgery, and a couple years ago, the whole abduction for ransom thing.

Greg had tasted that power. Enormous influence in politics, International immunity, more money than you could fill all of the oceans with, controlling the world's most popular sport. He had become addicted to it, and he did not apologize to himself for that addiction. It would have been a greater lie to himself that he didn't need or want that power again.

God damn right he did.

Wanted it, and would have it.

The anger crept back into his veins, and this time it took hold. It changed the color of the sunset to an ugly brightness, and transformed the yelling of the Legionnaires above him to irritating noise. What also irritated him was that he was not able to get the pent house on the top floor when the Legionnaires were able to.

Collins felt his mouth curl into a snarl.

He pushed himself away from the balcony railing and cross to the bed, gripped the edge of the bed sheet and whipped it away. The noise and the sudden air shift snapped Ophelia out of her sleep, and for a moment she recoiled, cringing, her hands instinctively moving to cover her full firm breasts and her vaginal line between her legs.

Then she saw him and her sleepy confusion changed into something else. A smile that was a sly and old as the corruption in the world. It ignited fires in her eyes.

"Well," she said slyly as she moved her hands and rolled onto her back, "good evening to you too. You look like you're ready to take a bite out of tomorrow."

He grinned down at her, leered at her. Wanted her.

"So do you. And its a big damn day tomorrow for you, sweetie."

"I know," she says, "I have to get back to London."

A shadow passed through her eyes when she said that.

"You alright?" Greg asks. "Having second thoughts?"

Ophelia took a half beat before answering, "no, it's just that once this match is lit, there's no turning back."

"I know."

"And we might not see each other again."

He gave her his best smile, "sure we will."

"When?" she asks.

"When we have resetted the game."

She shook her head, "it's not a reset. You never get the terminology right.'

"Yeah, yeah, I know. Whatever you scientists call this stuff."

"It's a new game, brand new," she says.

"Yes, it is," he says, "and everything will be different afterward. A new world. . . "

"But we won't share it," she said.

"We will."

"No-"

"We _will,_" he insisted, "it'll just take some time. You're going to be busy testing out that new Virus of yours and staying out of trouble while I reform this world a little bit at a time. So, call it a new game, call it what you like, my dear Ophelia. When all the fires are out, we'll find a way to get together. Maybe even out in public."

"You're a very charming liar."

"I mean it." He changed his tone for emphasis.

"So you'll risk throwing your life away to trot me out on your arm? The world's most wanted person, and you'll think that will make for good arm candy?"

"You're not the world's most wanted person yet."

"The night is young."

"So where do you plan to test your Virus first?"

"During the Touch Down final match."

"That's two weeks from now, the Gladiators will be facing the Legionnaires."

"Thought you hated the Legionnaires."

He laughed, "you're an evil bitch, you know that?"

Ophelia reached up and caught the end of Greg's robe belt. She gave it a sharp pull and licked her lips as the robe parted.

She reached between the flaps of the robe and wrapped her fingers around his hardness. And with that as a handle, drew him toward her. She was not gentle about it. It hurt Greg, but that was okay. Pain was another kind of drug.

Her breasts and thighs and buttocks were still red from this afternoon's slaps and bites.

Greg shoved her back against the mattress, used his knee to roughly part her legs, and with a low feral growl thrust into her.

She gasped, then moaned in ecstasy.

He did not take her. They took each other, both of them thrusting against each other with the brutality and need and a shared viciousness. It was apparent through the gasps and insistent, loud slapping of hungry skin against skin. It was an incredible aphrodisiac for both of them.

Outside the sun disappeared behind the horizon and the sound of singing birds changed in Greg's ears to the shrill screams of fear. And that too, was a turn on.

They both gasped as they came. Greg collapsed onto Ophelia, showering her body with kisses.

"How about we go down to the ball room and grab some dinner?" he suggested.

"That sounds like a lovely idea," she said, smiling.

They showered and quickly got dressed and took Greg's personal elevator down to the first floor.

* * *

Hitomi was amazed at the sheer size of the ball room. It was as big as half a football field and as high as four stories. Sitting in the middle of the ceiling was a large glass chandelier that reflected off the rays of lights beautifully.

The Legionnaires grabbed a table in the middle of the ball room.

Around the room, everyone was staring at them. Particularly focused on Hitomi. Some of the men had seen her before in the village. Some of them even attempted to sexually harass her only to be met with bone-crushing kicks from her mother. But everyone else did not know who she was. In their terms, she was a "newbie."

"Everyone's staring at me. . . " Hitomi said, obviously uncomfortable with all the attention she's receiving.

"Yeah, it's the usual treatment to new players in here. They'll eventually go back to minding their own business," Brittany said.

But that was only one reason why everyone was focused on Hitomi. Another obvious reason they were staring at her was because she's beautiful, and for the men, her tank top revealed cleavage that only made them day dream of what was hinted underneath the shirt.

The other reason was because Hitomi brought her katana with her. She wanted to leave it in the pent house, but her mother had told her to keep it safe and that she should keep it on her at all times. To make her feel more comfortable with the idea, Charlie brought along his Dual Magnums that were holstered on either side of him and kept his Iron Boots on, but turned them off.

John kept his sigma blade and shark sub-machine guns on him.

The twins had their daggers and hand guns.

Chris had his Taser Sword powered off and his revolver was holstered on his belt.

Brandon had his EXO Scythe folded down to a convenient size and clipped to his belt.

Brittany's McMillan Tactical 50 Caliber Sniper Rifle was back at the pent house. She was known for her deadly precision. God help you if you happen to appear in her cross-airs. For close combat, she keeps a dagger and a 12-Gauge Shotgun.

Normally, everyone is friendly with each other so the other players leave their weapons in their rooms.

The fact that the Legionnaires, one of the top ten teams in the world and who are the most friendly people ever, were suddenly carrying their weapons with them after Hitomi joined, it drew quite a bit of attention to her.

The players in the ball room began to wonder what the long weapon, that Hitomi had covered, was while they were eating the dinner that was served.

Especially the two other Executioners Team members.

"You think that's what we're looking for?" asks the man who was the youngest in the team. His name was Kojuro Hitsugaiya. His weapon of choice is the counter sword. He earned the nickname "Comet Crasher" as a result of his strength and agility with the weapon. To emphasize the glory of his nickname, he boosted his ego by dying his hair "comet-blue." He hates it whenever people call him a kid even though he was eighteen years old. He was the same height as Hitomi and Brittany which is why they called him "kid."

"Tch, I'm positive that it is. My source is never wrong, but damn. . . check that body out. God must have had fun when he was creating her." The big brute talking looked like he could've been Arnold Schwarzenegger's big brother. His name is Bob Sims. He stood tall at 6"8 with thirty-six inch biceps that strained the fabric of his team outfit. His legs could have been bridge supports for the Golden Gate Bridge and, if he tried, he could've knocked down a building a powerful round-house kick. He could bench 800 pounds as a warm-up. His preferred weapon was the heavy machine gun and his secondary weapon was the powerful Gate Breaker that he had won in the last championship game for Siege Mode. He isn't nicknamed "Big Bob" for no reason.

"So what do you want to do?" Kojuro asks.

"We wait for the boss."

As if on cue, Greg appears with Ophelia, "wait for me on what?"

The couple took their seats.

"Hey, boss," Bob says. "We found it."

"Found _what?_"

Bob covertly gestures to Hitomi.

Greg leaned over, "you found an Asian porn star?. . ."

"No, look at what's next to her."

He looked closer, then he saw the wrapped katana, "are you sure that's what we've been looking for?"

"200% positive. it's the Water Fang of the One-Eyed Dragon."

Ophelia laughed, "I know I told you boys to locate it and get it, but I don't need it anymore."

The three of them looked at her in disbelief.

"Why?. . ." Kojuro asks, obviously irritated.

Ophelia gestured for them to form a tight circle around the table.

"Originally, that katana would have foiled my plans. However, I commissioned for a special plasma sword to be created with a very hard-to-come-by metal fragment that is an exact opposite to the fangs of the. . . whatever you call that guy. The sword could counter the purification power of the Water Fang. So if that bitch over there killed an infected host's body, the modified plasma sword will revive it."

She straightened her posture, "do you all get what I'm saying?"

They nodded in unison. There was no sign of confusion in there focused stares.

"It's a large fragment of the Lich King's sword."

They didn't have to ask anymore questions after that statement.

According to the legends, the Lich King was the most evil demon to ever wander the Earth. He killed millions of people as he rampaged through the lands and raised them from the dead. He created a massive demon army under his command. He would have succeeded in destroying the Earth if it weren't for a certain group of people.

These people were known through myths as the Heroes of the Seven Continents. One of these great heroes was the One-Eyed Dragon Date Masamune.

With his six fangs, each varying in size, he defended the Asian Continent against the Lich King. Unfortunately, he was only one man protecting an entire continent. He was eventually pushed back to Japan, the last line of defense for Asia.

The size of each sword represented how much power it held.

Hitomi had the longest one.

Each fang contained a power from one of the Six Dragons of Old. Only descendants of the Masamune family could harness the powers of these katana. In order of smallest katana to longest: Air, Fire, Earth, Light, Darkness, and Water.

Hitomi possesed the katana imbued with the Almighty power of the Water Dragon. The Water Dragon's power was gentle, yet ferocious. The water can purify any illness and even revive the dead back to their former glory. The Water Fang is also a deadly weapon, striking as fast as the raging currents and as powerful as a tsunami.

* * *

Hitomi sat alone at the table with John while the others went to go get their dinner.

When they came back, John went with her to the buffet line.

_Crap, I don't know what to say to her_

He didn't have to.

"So, how did you come to join the Legionnaires?" she asked shyly.

"Oh, um. . . well they just sort of took me in when I was alone on the streets in the United States. ." he replies with an awkward tone.

_I don't know what to say. Say something, Hitomi! _She thought to herself.

"Um. . the food here looks great, is it like this every evening?"

"Uh. . it changes every evening. ."

_Oh my God, he's going to think I'm weird. . ._ she thought.

_Say something normal or she's going to think you're a weirdo, John! _He thought to himself.

"So. . . do you want to practice with me after dinner in the simulator?"

She took a moment before answering, "I might have to anyways. So yeah, I'd love to join you."

He blushed at that last part. She didn't even say it in a flirtatious way, but it still made him blush anyways.

They returned to the table with the others.

All Hitomi had on her plate was stir-fried tuna, some boiled broccoli and a few strawberries.

Everyone else, except Brittany, had at least a plate filled with 95% meat, 4% green, and 1% sauce.

Brittany unfortunately was a vegetarian and was limited to soup, salad, and fruit.

After everyone ate, they called it a night and went to bed except Hitomi and John.

Brandon grinned at the two like they were going to do something dirty, "don't stay up too long," he teased.

Hitomi blushed while John flipped him the bird.

As soon as the others heard the door to the simulation room close and seal itself, they jumped out of their beds and ran into the living room. Charlie turned the TV on and went to the private channel that allowed them to watch what was happening in the simulation.

* * *

"Are you ready?" John asked as he finished typing the information into the system.

"I don't know how to use this katana though. . ." she said, discouraged.

John had informed her all she needed to know about the simulations. He warned her about the pain she might feel from the attacks, but assured her that the pain would not be real, just a feeling. The Artificial Intelligence was going to be training robots that were programmed to look like and react like actual players.

"It's alright, I know you'll get the hang of it, you don't have to be scared," he placed a comforting hand on her shoulder, "this will prepare you for the real thing in the future. And I don't want to see you on any game unless you know you're ready."

She looked into his green eyes. She expected him to say "_I_ know you're ready," instead he said "_you _know you're ready."

"You're not alone, we're a team. We look out for each other." For the first time in a long time, he smiled. What was this girl doing to him?

She genuinely smiled back. Something inside began to beat again. It was her heart. It had stopped beating ever since her mother died. And now, hours later, it fluttered in her chest again. She felt real love.

He didn't realize it, but he had made a lasting impact on her life just like how she made a lasting impact on his life. They didn't say it, but they knew that they were going to be good friends.

In more ways than one.

They stood across from each other.

"Computer, start the simulation," he says.

An automated voice spoke, "Preparing Arcade Mode, Map: Connest, Scenario: Practice. Confirm desired settings."

"Confirmed."

"Preparing for simulation in 3. . .2. . .1. . ."


	4. Chapter 4: Practice Makes Perfect

**Welcome back to another chapter!**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

There was a brilliant flash of light as the simulation was loading.

Hitomi could not see John through the veil of light.

The simulation finally loaded and slowly the environment became visible to her. She was standing in a white room that was about the same size as the ball room. Before her was a door that led outside to a large open clearing that was the size of a stadium.

Beyond the clearing were lots of trees, bushes, and fields of flowers. Hills and mounds were scattered everywhere.

But no sign of John.

"John!" she called out.

John had suddenly appeared behind her "Boo." he said into her right ear.

"Eek!" she screamed.

He laughed, "Sorry, I couldn't help myself. I had to do it."

After a moment she regained her composure.

"So. . how come there aren't any AI like you said there would be?" she asked.

"I haven't given the command for them to operate yet. Not until you've gotten the basics of how the S4 League works."

"What? Physics?" It wasn't her favorite subject in school.

"I'll show you, follow me."

She followed him back into the enormous white room.

"The first thing you need to know how to do in the S4 League, which I find really fun to do, is wall jumping. Watch closely."

John ran off into a full on sprint to the wall, jumped, planted his feet on the wall, and launched himself off the wall propelling himself into the air gracefully. He landed behind her perfectly without breaking a sweat.

"Whoa. . ." she was awe struck.

"Now you try."

"I don't think I can do that. . ."

"It's okay, the system assists you. Go on try it."

Hitomi stared at the white wall forty feet in front of her.

She took a deep breath and exhaled, then ran off into a sprint towards the wall.

When she was a couple feet away, she proceeded to jump, but she felt a weird sensation course through her body. Suddenly, she was not in control of her motions. When she jumped, her body performed a spinning front flip and her feet planted on the wall perfectly. The moment her feet came in contact with the wall she used every ounce of muscle in her legs to propel herself from the wall. Her body performed a graceful, spinning back flip as she soared through the air and made a perfect and almost quiet landing behind John.

His mouth hung open, "whoa. . . I've never seen anyone do those cool acrobatic moves that you just performed."

She was amazed herself, she had never felt so good doing physical activity like that. Nor did she know that she was capable of performing such graceful and perfectly executed moves like that. She knew the system assisted her with the wall jumping, but everything that happened before and after the wall jump. . . she wasn't even sure that she was in control of her own body. It was like her body naturally moved on its own and was able to perform those complicated forms of acrobatics.

"That was amazing," he added. "You're a natural at this."

She blushed, "thanks."

"Since you've gotten that down already, let's move on. Next basic thing you have to know is the fade step. This is all system assist. All you need to do is any type of dodging move to either the left or the right and the system will take care of the rest. Like so. . ."

He spun his body while ducking to the right and the system made him dodge even further than she thought he would go.

"Now you try," he said.

"Um. . . okay. ."

She tried to think of a dodge move that would complement a fighting style for a katana. Her mind eventually found the perfect one. She bent her knees and ducked to the left while spinning right. In one lightning fast motion, she grabbed her katana and used the momentum of her spin to power her slash. A great amount of wind pressure erupted from the slashing motion and cut the steel wall nearby. She sheathed her katana.

"Whoa! You cut right through the steel!" John exclaimed in shock.

There was a long and large slash canvassed on the steel wall. Hitomi peeked into the cut and she could see the outside. The steel wall was six feet thick.

"How did you do that?" John asked.

"I don't know, it just came naturally to me. ."

He arched an eyebrow, "are you sure you weren't lying to me when you said you didn't know how to use that katana?"

She giggled, "I'm not lying."

"Hmm. . ."

"I'm not," she insisted.

He snapped his fingers and an AI Training Robot appeared.

"Alright then, let's see if anything else comes 'naturally' to you then," he teased.

"Shut up," she laughed.

The AI stood there, it was set to idle.

This was her chance to put her own style into the katana.

She knew an attack that any rookie should know about the katana. She started with that.

She stood a couple feet away from the AI and performed a quick unsheathing strike.

Since it was an AI it had no safety shield. Its head slid off from the middle of the neck where she cut and rolled on the ground before the head and the body disappeared into data.

"Yikes," John said as he placed a hand on his neck.

"I think that's enough training for now," he waved his hand and a holographic monitor appeared. He tapped his finger on the "Quit Simulation" button.

Everything went pitch black for a moment. Then after a few seconds, Hitomi's focus returns.

She was still standing in place just like when they started.

"Simulation terminated, have a good day, John Smith, Hitomi Masamune," the automated voice said.

John yawned and stretched.

She did the same after realizing how much her leg muscles ached from standing for a long time and realizing how tired she was.

"I think the others are awake," he said.

The door to the simulation room unsealed itself before sliding open. The whole gang was standing there in their night clothes.

After several minutes of praising her, they all went to their rooms.

Brittany dragged Hitomi to her room.

"Brittany, it's fine. I can sleep on the couch," Hitomi giggled.

"Call me Britt, and that isn't going to happen girl. You need a bed!" Brittany said.

Upon entering her room, Hitomi noticed several things. It was a 40x40 room which was big. A desk that was designated to be the make up station was placed a couple inches away from the North wall. On the west side of the room was Brittany's bed and on the east side was Hitomi's new bed. Only thing unusual was that her bed was a window seat. It had a single fluffy pillow that was relaxing for the neck and a blanket. The window seat was designed with cushions for maximum comfort.

Brittany said her good night before jumping onto her bed and instantly falling asleep.

Hitomi quietly giggled as she set her katana down against the bottom frame of the window seat. She slowly laid down on her new bed which was surprisingly the perfect length and width for her. It was long enough for her to stretch her legs out with her feet only a few inches from the wall. It was also wide enough that two people could sleep on it.

The thought of John laying next to her creeped into her mind.

She quickly dismissed the thought and felt her cheeks become hot. She sat up in the moonlight that shone through the window and pulled out the book Charlie gave her. She read the book until her eye lids became heavy. She bookmarked the page before placing it next to her katana on the floor. She got cozy on the bed and fell asleep.

She had a dream that the world was on fire.


	5. Chapter 5: First and Last Game

**And I'm back with another chapter!**

**Thanks for the reviews and enjoy!**

**For an idea of how the outfits look like I based the outfit off of the Cyborgs update. You know, when the loading screen for the Cyborgs update appears, it's that picture. The girls have the outfits of the blue-haired woman and the medium-built men have the outfit of the blue haired man. Charlie and Chris have the outfit of the giant man.**

**Here's an idea of how the logo of the Legionnaires looks like as well.  
**

h.t.t.p.:././.i.g.n.i.s.s.e.r.p.e.n.t.u.s .d.e.v.i.a.n.t.a.r.t. c.o.m./.a.r.t./.L.e.g.i.o.n.n.a.i.r.e.s.-.L.o.g.o.-...0.

**Sorry for the extra periods, just remove them and the link should work. **

* * *

Everywhere Hitomi looked she saw an all-out war raging around her.

Even in the sky.

She saw giant-winged creatures and dragon riders waging a fierce aerial battle.

On the ground she saw seven warriors valiantly fending off an army of ugly and monstrous creatures.

One of the monsters stood out from the rest. It held a longsword that was enveloped with crimson aura. It wore a torn jet-black cloak and had leprous skin. And its face was shrouded in darkness. It towered at fifteen feet.

Just staring at the monster sent jolts of sheer horror into the cellars of her soul.

She watched in horror as one by one a warrior who bravely challenged the monster fell victim to its blade.

Only one warrior was left to challenge this monster.

"Hitomi!"

Brittany was shaking her, trying to wake her up.

Hitomi's eyes shot open. She had been crying and cringing the whole time in her sleep.

She sat up and instinctively hugged Brittany like she had done with her mother. She muffled her weeping into Brittany's abdomen.

Brittany lovingly shushed her as she gave comforting rubs on her back.

"It's okay. . . the nightmares are gone" she says.

The morning sun shined through the massive window.

You could hear the distant laughter of men and women and children relaxing on the nearby beach.

Someone knocked on the door, "is everything alright in there?"

It was Chris.

"Yeah." Brittany replied.

"We'll be heading down to the ball room for breakfast, are you gonna come with us or show up later?"

"We'll go with you guys, just give us a minute."

"Alright."

The sound of his loud footsteps faded as he walked away.

By then, Hitomi had regained her composure.

They fixed each others hair with a brush and Brittany disappeared into her walk-in wardrobe. She gave Hitomi a white V-neck shirt and a red mini-skirt.

At this point Hitomi didn't care about modesty anymore. She just went with what Brittany said looked cute on her. She didn't complain though. When she checked how she looked in the mirror, she smiled. She was actually pleased with how she looked.

Brittany slipped on a tight blue tank top that hugged her skin and a pair of white shorts before hooking a blue object to one of her belt rings.

"What's that?" Hitomi asked.

"Oh, this? It's the team's storage unit for the team outfit," she said as she hooked her dagger behind her.

She unhooked the storage unit and held it in her hand.

She pointed out a red button on it.

"This is quite a handy tool, watch."

She pressed the red button and it flashed blue for a moment. Then a white and blue outfit instantly enveloped her body replacing her previous clothes she was wearing.

The Legionnaires Team logo appeared on her left shoulder.

"Whoa. . ." Hitomi said.

"Yeah, quite useful isn't it?"

"When do I get mine?" Hitomi asked excitedly.

"I think Charlie has one for you. Come on, they're waiting for us."

Hitomi grabbed her katana and went with Brittany to the living room where everyone was waiting.

"About time." The twins said in unison.

"Hey, Hitomi. Catch." Charlie threw an object at Hitomi.

She yelped and barely caught it. It was lighter than it looked.

He laughed. "Go on. Try it."

She noticed that everyone had their uniforms on. She pressed the button and a similar outfit to Brittany's replaced her clothes and hugged her skin. The logo appeared on her left shoulder as well.

For a moment, she realized that she may as well have been nude. The outfit hugged her body showing off her figure. There were parts of the outfit that didn't cover her skin. She blushed with embarrassment when everyone just gaped at her open-mouthed, except Chris who shook his head at everyone's reaction.

Brittany was the first to recover.

"You're now officially a part of the team!" She hugged her. Once again their breasts rubbed against each other. Even though Hitomi's was larger, Brittany's were nothing to be ashamed of.

Chris stood up, "alright, save your drooling for breakfast." Chris said.

Everyone gathered into the spacious elevator and went down to the ball room.

Hitomi was served a dish of scrambled eggs, sausages and bacon. She was hungry, but was disciplined enough to not wolf down the food.

Everyone discussed what they were going to do today. The twins and Brandon had a Death Match game. Chris was going to visit his kids. Charlie, Brittany and John had a Touch Down game. It was the semi-finals match for all of the games.

"Do you want to join us? We're short one player." Brittany asked.

"I want to, but I'm just a beginner," Hitomi replied.

"You can just stick with me then, I just hang back and pick off people. I also defend the goal too."

"It would be a good learning experience for you," Charlie pointed out.

". . . Alright, I guess I could play this game."

"My kids and I could watch your game then." Chris said.

"Aww, I want to watch too," Brandon said.

"We do too, but unfortunately our game starts before yours." Henry said.

"We'll still be able to catch the second half." Derek said.

They all laughed.

"Oh! I almost forgot. . . I don't have a gun." Hitomi said.

"I can help you with that," John said.

"Ooo! I'll come with you." Brittany said.

After everyone finished eating, the Death Match players left to check in and register for their game that started in a few minutes. John, Chris, Brittany, and Hitomi all went to the Teleportation Gate. Charlie went back to teh pent house to tinker with his Iron Boots.

Chris went into the gate first.

Then after he vanished, the other three stepped into the gate.

John entered coordinates into the system and they were teleported to the International League Weapons Market.

It was a massive place that stretched as far out as a town. John led them to a particular and isolated building that was empty of customers.

The sliding doors opened automatically and the store owner looked up.

"Well if it ain't the Legionnaires!" he said.

"Good to see you too, Tom," John said.

"Ohh. . . a new member?" He was looking at Hitomi.

Tom looked like a friendly grandfather.

"Yeah, her name's Hitomi. She's looking to buy her first gun." Brittany said.

"Well, I'll be damned. You came to the right place young lady!"

Tom showed her around the store. Explaining what guns were on display and such.

A particular hand gun caught Hitomi's attention, "what's this one?" she asked and pointed to the silver hand gun.

Tom looked at what she was referring to. "Oh, yes! Excellent choice!"

He gently removed the hand gun from its pedestal.

"This here is a classic hand gun that has been lost to time. No one buys these guns that go back to hundreds of years ago because they think that they're _out-dated_." He said that last word with a scoff. "In my opinion, performance never has an expiration date."

He smiled, "This hand gun here is called the Beretta M9. It holds thirteen rounds and has enough fire power to stop a raging elephant with just three shots. Hundreds of years ago this gun was so outstanding in its performance that it was standard issue for U.S. Military. It is still good as any other gun they invented over time even though no one uses this anymore."

Tom handed the gun to Hitomi. She held it like it was a priceless artifact. She looked at it in admiration, especially the blue dragon on the white grip. Holding the Beretta, she felt as if she recognized the dragon engraved on it.

She looked at Tom, "May I?" She asked, trying to hide her eagerness.

"Of course! Right this way, you can test it out in my shooting range in my basement."

He led them further into the store and into the ventilated basement. He showed her how to use and hold the Beretta and gave her six fresh magazines to use. Everyone wore head phones that drowned out most of the loud noise.

Tom worked the ceiling conveyor belt and brought a paper target with a large circle on it within ten yards.

Hitomi held the Beretta in a two-hand shooter's grip, but it didn't feel right to her. She fired a couple shots and asked Tom if he could bring it closer for inspection.

She had missed the circle and hit the paper instead.

Tom chuckled, "don't feel so down, it's your first time shooting isn't it?"

She nodded, "I want to try something, can you move it back out?"

He nodded and moved the target back to ten yards.

This time she held the Beretta in her right hand. This felt familiar to her and she unloaded the whole magazine down range.

When Tom brought it back up for inspection, everyone gasped, even Hitomi.

All the shots hit the center and were only millimeters away from each other.

"Whoa!" Brittany cried out.

"Jesus, Mary, and Joseph. Hitomi, you never cease to amaze me." John praised.

She blushed at that comment.

"Wow. . . I'd hate to be in your sights when you're pointing that thing." Tom laughed.

They went back up to the main store and Hitomi purchased the Beretta.

Tom said, "Since I'm in a good mood, I'll add in six fresh magazines, a case of two-thousand 9mm bullets, a Compact Rapid Response holster for your Beretta, just slide your belt through that hole and it'll be within a second's reach; and an Elastic Responder Magazine belt for your leg to hold those extra magazines. This belt will wrap around your leg automatically and adjust its tightness based on the condition of your leg so that it won't feel too tight or too loose."

"Oh, no. That's okay I don't need-"

"Don't be so modest," he laughed, "just take them. It's on me."

"Thank you. . I promise I'll pay you back for these-"

"Like I said, it's all on me. If you want to pay me back, then go out there and kick ass." He laughed.

She giggled and bowed, "Thank you."

She turned the safety on and placed the Beretta in her new Rapid Response holster. She wrapped the magazine belt around her leg and it instantly adjusted itself. She slid the six magazines into the slots on the belt.

John had to carry the the case of bullets because of the heavy weight.

They said their goodbyes to Tom and left for the Teleportation Gate. A lot of people in the market stared at them as they walked by. Hitomi had her katana wrapped in a cloth and slung behind her. They all wondered what kind of weapon she had wrapped in the cloth.

John said, "we should head back, _quickly._ Our game is about to start in ten minutes."

It was a fact and an excuse.

They quickly went back to the pent house and dropped off the case in Brittany's room and left for the stadium.

John set the coordinates on the Teleportation Gate to Rome and they were instantly transported to the city.

Ever since the S4 League started, the Roman Colosseum has been torn down-after convincing historians with large amounts of PEN-and rebuilt into a much bigger stadium for Touch Down games.

Charlie was waiting for them in the waiting room.

"There you are, we almost got disqualified." He said.

"Forget it, let's just get started." John said.

The announcer shouted into his microphone and the crowd burst into cheering.

"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Touch Down Semi-Finals game!" He yelled.

"We've got a good pairing today for you, folks. On the Alpha Side, we have the Gladiators Team!"

A large spotlight shined at the Alpha side and the crowd cheered.

On the Alpha side was four guys. All of them except one had a medium build and their hair was dyed red. The other guy was built like Charlie and had a large heavy machine gun slung behind him. They waved at the audience as the crowds cheered.

"And on the Beta side, we have the Legionnaires Team!" The announcer shouted.

A spotlight shined on Hitomi's side and the others waved at the audience as the crowds roared at the top of their lungs in cheers.

"Wow these guys are really popular." She whispered to herself.

Then suddenly, the crowds became gradually quieter as all eyes were fixed on Hitomi.

She felt like she was going to faint and forced her legs to stop shaking.

"What have we here? The Legionnaires have a new team member!" The announcer stepped onto a floating platform and was carried all the way to the Beta side.

Hitomi shifted nervously and John placed a comforting hand on her right shoulder.

"It's okay," he whispered.

The announcer stepped off the platform and approached Hitomi.

"And what;s your name, miss?" he held the microphone close to her face."

"H-Hitomi. . ." she said quietly.

"Aww, the shy type eh? Well that's fine," he turned and faced the crowds, "let's give a warm welcome to Hitomi!"

The audience cheered. Some of the people were commenting on her looks. Some were wondering what the covered weapon that was slung behind Hitomi was.

"It could be a spear," someone said.

The announcer floated back to the middle of the map, "alright, alright, alright! Let's get this game going!"

He then floated off the map and into the VIP Section of the stadium and dismounted there. John noticed that the Executioners Team was there and he looked away as Greg turned his attention towards them.

"Barrier activated." An automated voice said.

A blue wall appeared on the boundaries of the Tunnel map and obscured Hitomi's view of the audience. The barrier was designed to protect the audience from bullets. Holographic Screens appeared for the audience outside the barrier. It kept the camera coverage for the audience to watch the game.

Hitomi noticed a lot of floating cameras in the map and it annoyed her slightly.

"Prepare to begin in 10. . .9. . 8. . .7. . ."

Hitomi's heart began to increase in pace.

Brittany came up next to her and comforted her. "Just hang back with me and you'll be fine."

"Here," Charlie handed a small device to her, "it's an ear piece so we can communicate from distances."

Hitomi placed the device in her left ear.

"John, you're with me," Charlie said.

"Got it."

"3. . .2. . .1. . ."

"Start! Show me your S4!" The announcer yelled.

The laser wall in front of the teams disappeared and the Gladiators sprung into action.

Charlie and John also sprung into action and ran for the fumbi ball.

Hitomi followed Brittany. She followed up on the two wall jumps to get onto the tunnel surrounding their goal.

Hitomi crouched next to Brittany who was in a prone position on the top of the tunnel. She hooked on a bipod for her Macmillan Tactical 50 Sniper Rifle and adjusted the cogs on her scope.

* * *

"Above you to the left!" John shouted. He fired his shark sub-machine guns at a Gladiator about to pummel Charlie with his counter sword.

Charlie activated his Iron Boots and fired his thrusters and jolted backwards as he drew his magnums and fired at the Gladiator who missed his initial downward punch.

The combined gunfire of Charlie and John destroyed the Gladiator's shield and he disappeared back to his base re-spawn point.

"Thanks, man."

Charlie grabbed the fumbi ball and it floated above his head, shining a colorful light to the top of the barrier.

John and Charlie fade-stepped behind a wall as a hail of bullets rained where they were originally. It was the big guy with the large Heavy Machine Gun. "Hahaha! Come out you fuckers!"

Charlie tapped his ear piece, "Brittany" he said.

"Got him."

A second later, the big Gladiator flew back and disappeared.

A second after that, the loud, sharp crack of the sniper filled the air.

* * *

Brittany worked the bolt and slid a fifty caliber bullet into the chamber then closed it and locked the bolt.

"Nice shot!" Hitomi praised.

She smiled. "It was an easy shot since he wasn't jumping around."

Hitomi watched as John engaged in a melee battle with a Gladiator wielding a Counter Sword.

"No. . . don't fight so recklessly, John." Brittany said.

As soon as she finished that sentence, John activated the Sigma Blade's Awakening Mode. It channels the wielder's energy or rage into the sword. He started slashing at the Gladiator who deftly dodged each slash.

The Gladiator went into a Revenge stance and as as soon as John came close with a slash, a bolt of lightning shot out from the mechanical arm and at John. It stopped his attack and attacked his senses. He felt dizzy and nauseous.

Brittany pulled the trigger on her sniper, but missed by a hair when the Gladiator fade-stepped.

"Shit." she said under her breath as she quickly worked the bolt and slide in another bullet.

Hitomi held her breath while watching John get uppercutted into the air by the Counter Sword.

She grimaced when his body hit the corner of a wall.

Then Charlie was there and attempted to drop kick the Gladiator, but was stopped by another uppercut from the other Gladiator with the Counter Sword.

* * *

The shields that the officials gave the players only absorb so much force, but not all of it. Charlie and John felt like they were just tackled by a ram.

Their shields depleted completely when their opponents finished them off and were teleported back to their base re-spawn point. They had to wait for their shields to charge before re-entering.

The fumbi ball was reset to the middle of the map.

* * *

"Eat that you bastard. ." Brittany pulled the trigger and caught one of the Counter Sword wielders and he disappeared.

She quickly worked the bolt as the other Counter Sword user tried to run for the ball.

Brittany finished working the bolt and aimed at the other guy. She pulled the trigger, but the big guy stepped in front of him and activated a holographic shield that absorbed the fifty caliber bullet.

"Damn it!" She grabbed her slung shotgun and cocked it.

Hitomi unwrapped the cloth surrounding her katana and drew her Beretta.

They both jumped down and opened fire on the two Gladiators. The shield absorbed the bullets and eventually they both fade-stepped behind a wall as the holographic shield energy depleted.

Hitomi ran to the next wall for cover.

She peeked around the corner and recoiled back as bullets pinged against her cover.

"I got these bastards," she heard Brittany say into the ear piece.

She saw Brittany run to the wall where the Gladiators were on the other side.

Then she saw a re-spawned Gladiator running towards the others. She quickly peeked out and fired three shots at him before hiding back behind cover as bullets pinged the wall again.

Then she heard two loud shots and two screams. She peeked out and saw Brittany wink at her where the two Gladiators were. Then saw her jump out of cover and fire the shotgun point blank at the other guy. He screamed before disappearing.

Hitomi grimaced, "that's gotta hurt. . ."

"You bet it does," she smiled.

They hid behind cover as bullets pelted them.

"Something's been bothering me. . ." Hitomi said.

"What is it?"

"There were four of them, but I only see three. . ."

The sudden realization hit them both.

"Where's the other guy?" Brittany said as she quickly scanned the area around them.

"Right here, sexy," a creepy voice said.

Hitomi wheeled around as Brittany screamed in pain.

Their was a red dagger that ran through her, then she disappeared.

* * *

Brittany reappeared in front of Charlie and dropped to her knees and broke into a violent fit of coughing.

Charlie helped her up, "that sneaky bastard. . ." she grumbled.

"What the fuck?!" John yelled.

They looked at him, "What?" she asked.

"Me and Charlie have been her for more than a minute and the shields aren't recharging!" he was tapping the device on his chest and it wasn't working.

"That means. . ." Charlie looked over at Hitomi, "she's on her own."

* * *

Greg sat in his luxurious chair in the VIP Room.

He was holding a jamming device in his hand.

"Let's see how well you do under pressure, Hitomi. . ."

Ophelia laughed, "and you called me evil."

* * *

Hitomi quickly fired three shots at the man with the dagger and he dodged each of them with lightning speed.

_Whoa! He's fast!_

She kept firing then the slide locked.

_Oh crap!_

The man dashed towards her and bashed the Beretta out of her hand. Then he planted a strong kick on her gut, sending her flying back ten yards.

She slid on the floor for a few feet and gasped in pain. That kick had much more force than her body was expecting.

She got up to a crawl and crawled to the nearest wall and leaned her back against it.

_Where are the others? I sure could use their help right now._

She slowly stood on her feet and held her gut, it was still burning.

_I guess I have to use the katana now, my Beretta is all the way over there. ._

"Boo."

Another kick and Hitomi goes flying again. This time she slammed into the wall. And this time she felt more force than there should be. Then she realized that the shield device on her chest wasn't functioning.

* * *

"Computer, stop the match!" Charlie yelled.

No response.

"Damn it! Screw this! Shield or no shield I have to save her!" John yelled and ran out into the map.

"He's right, she's going to die out there with our shields disabled." Then Charlie ran out.

Brittany remained where she was, she couldn't walk or run. The pain from the dagger attack was too great.

"I'm sorry guys, I'm useless at the moment."

"Don't sweat it, just rest." Charlie said into the ear piece.

* * *

Hitomi leaned against the wall she slammed into. She coughed violently. What's worse was that blood was coming out from her coughs.

_Damn it. . . I'm not going to die here._

She got to her feet and grabbed her katana.

Then suddenly her vision went pitch black.

* * *

The man with the dagger was sneaking up to Hitomi.

_Easy kill. Time to collect in on the contract money I'm going to receive for killing her._

He grinned maliciously in his cloaked form.

Hitomi opened her eyes and it was resonating white light.

The man stopped, _What the hell?_

Then she disappeared.

He felt a shift in the wind behind him and the next instant something ran through his chest.

He cried out in pain and looked down.

A long blade had run through him.

Then it was jerked out of him the next instant.

He dropped to his knees and collapsed on the floor.

The man's team comes around the corner and Hitomi disappears.

"What the hell?!" the big man said.

One of them crouched next to him. He placed two fingers on his neck.

No pulse.

"He's gone. ."

"And you'll be joining him."

They wheeled around and saw Hitomi standing there, katana brandished with blood dripping from it.

"You bitch!" The big man said and prepped his heavy machine gun to fire.

Hitomi was a blur as she dashed towards the big man and slashed him.

It all happened in less than a millisecond.

Time eventually caught up with the slash and blood spewed out of the big man's fatal wound.

He screamed in pain as he fell backwards and passed out.

"You have one chance, surrender or die." Hitomi's voice was combined with another voice. It sounded like a man's voice.

"Fuck you, bitch!" Both of the remaining men leaped into the air and readied to pummel her with their Counter Swords.

"Fools" was all she said before she disappeared into a blur again.

When the men landed, they looked down in horror. Their upper bodies were separated from their lower bodies.

Their torsos slid off of their legs and they died right there.

Hitomi whipped her sword to the side to flick off the blood from the katana and then sheathed it like a trained samurai.

* * *

"Hitomi?" John said.

They came around the corner and saw her standing there amidst the massacre that occurred.

"Bloody hell. . ." Charlie's words could not have been more aptly chosen.

"Hitomi?" John asked again.

She turned around, her eyes were still resonating a white light.

Then in the next instant it disappeared.

* * *

Hitomi's vision returned to her.

It was blurry at first but then it refocused.

Then she saw the horrible scene around her. She looked around her in shock and felt a deep pull on her heart. Then she looked at her hands and her body. It was covered in blood.

She screamed in horror, then her vision blurred again as she lost consciousness.

* * *

John quickly caught Hitomi from falling.

"What the hell happened?" John asked.

"I think this is beyond our understanding. . " Charlie said.

"Whatever let's just get out of here before that barrier comes down. Security is going to detain Hitomi if they see this."

Charlie nodded and they quickly returned to Brittany with Hitomi.

She gaped in horror, "Is she alright?!"

"Yeah, but we gotta go, can you run?" Charlie asked.

"No, I'm still-" she yelped as Charlie picked her up.

"Alright, I'll lead the way." Charlie said.

* * *

The holographic screens outside of the map were offline.

"What the hell just happened?" Greg asked.

"Dunno." Bob said.

Ophelia said, "probably just a malfunction."

Then the barrier dropped on the map.

The audience screamed in horror.

Even Greg stared at the scene in shock.

Blood was pooling from where the Gladiators Team was laying.

Two of them had been cut in half and the other two were bleeding out badly.

Security teams quickly intervened and quickly locked down the stadium and yellow-taped the area.

* * *

"STOP!" A security guard yelled.

"Keep running!" Charlie yelled.

"Ugh, I'm going to regret this later." Brittany said. She pulled one of Charlie's magnums out of its holster and pointed it at the security guard.

"John, move!"

John quickly saw what she meant and side-stepped to the left.

Brittany pulled the trigger and the guard went down and cried out in pain.

They kept running.

They heard the other guard's words as bullets whizzed past them, "Officer down, I repeat officer down! Requesting full back-up, bring in everyone!"


	6. Chapter 6: Pain

"Take it you bitch!"

Greg snarled the words as he thrust into her from behind. Ophelia was on elbows and knees; he stood beside the bed. Her buttocks flared red from where he'd slapped her over and over again with each thrust.

She snarled back at him from between clenched teeth. Goading him on, demanding that he go harder and faster, that he hit her.

Demanding it.

When they came they howled together like night creatures. Like wolves.

The iPod played very loud opera. If anyone else in the resort heard them, no one called the front desk.

Bob and Kojuro were outside the suite. They tried their best to pretend to be deaf every time Greg and Ophelia went at it.

Greg collapsed on her by slow degrees, his sweaty chest falling onto her back and bearing her down to the sodden and tangled sheets. They panted loudly, unable to speak, spent and aching, lost in the exhaustion and pleasure and an afterglow that burned their skin.

It was always like this for them.

Genuine tenderness formed no part of their relationship, though they went through the motions of it during dinner and before clothes were off. Once they were naked, each of them knew that they could be their real, true selves that the media and press or other businessmen never saw. They were not nice people, and that was part of the fun for each of them. They were rough and mean to each other, and that was a turn on for them.

And they both knew that they were trying through physical extremity to try and fuck each other's mind. To do that would have been their only goal. But in the absence of that possibility they drove each other toward the edge of the cliff every time.

And every time it was good for them.

As the sweat cooled on their skin, they gradually fell apart, him rolling off her, Ophelia shifting toward the center of the bed. They were totally abashed about nakedness or preference, and that was such a liberating thing.

After a while he said, "So what's the plan now?"

She turned and looked at him. Greg was staring up at the ceiling.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"Well you saw what happened on the stadium. It can only mean one thing, she knows how to use that katana. It could jeopardize our plans."

"Relax, everything will work out. We just have to release the Virus earlier than we planned."

"How early?" he turned to her.

She made the most wicked grin ever, "how about right now?"

"Is it ready?"

"It passed the testing stages, it's proven to be 100% effective."

He smiled maliciously, "then what are we waiting for?"

* * *

Brittany called everyone in the team on her cell phone. She told them all the same thing, "Code 127, rendezvous at Sanctuary."

The Legionnaires created this protocol in cases of great emergency. Code 127 was meant for exactly that. Sanctuary is the secret safe house the Legionnaires built into Mount Everest. It's located two-thousand feet above sea level and the only way in is to teleport in with a secret code or clearance to fly into the sealed airfield. The safe house is actually a giant mansion and sitting next to it is an airfield the size of twenty football fields. The whole place runs on geothermal energy coming from the nearby geothermal plant that was recently built for Sanctuary. The facility has automated machine guns with heat and motion sensors that will tear apart anything, besides the Legionnaires.

The whole construction project cost around fourteen billion PEN to accomplish.

"Okay, everyone's been notified. They will all meet us there," Brittany says to Charlie.

"Good, we need to get out of sight and change. Then when it's safe we need to get to a Teleportation Gate." He said.

"Right. Just one problem."

"What?"

She pointed behind them, "John and Hitomi are no longer behind us."

"What?!" Charlie skidded to a stop. He was still holding Brittany in his arms when he turned around. The distant search lights of helicopters were approaching fast.

He tapped his ear piece, "John, Hitomi! Where the bloody hell are you?!"

There was a three count before John replied.

"Uh. . . now's not the best time."

"What the hell's that suppose to mean?!"

"For the love of. . stop fucking yelling! Just know that we're out of sight and it would stay that way if you stopped yelling!"

"Where-"

"Charlie! We have to go before we're spotted!" The sounds of the rotors from the helicopters were getting louder every second.

Charlie cursed, "just stay out of sight then! We'll rendezvous with you when we can!"

Then he activated the after burners on his boots and sped away out of sight with Brittany.

* * *

John sighed as he looked out the window of an abandoned house. Even though the house is abandoned, the furniture remained and the whole place was surprisingly clean and dust-free. There were no artificial lights to use and even if there were he wouldn't risk turning them on.

Hitomi sat on the bed with her knees pulled up against her chest. She had tears flowing down her beautiful face. The moonlight was resting on her. There was something about the light of the moon that charges anything it touches with magical potential.

Hitomi's katana lied against the wall farthest from the bed. Hanging from the hand guard was her gun belt with her recovered Beretta. She had not laid a finger on her katana since she woke up.

Earlier when John was still carrying her, she woke up and screamed at the sight of it. She flailed at John and he was forced to put her down. She threw her katana away from her like it was a terrifying picture and took off running in a different direction.

John had to pick up her katana and run after her.

He found her in this bedroom of the abandoned house sitting on the luxurious bed the way she is now.

John closed the curtains, leaving only a sliver of moonlight creeping into the dark bedroom.

He lit a match from a matchbox he found in a computer desk drawer and lit four candles that were in the room. He placed them in parts of the room where equal amounts of light would spread throughout the dark room. Even with the candles, the room was still dimly lit and he could only see a little bit of Hitomi on the bed.

He sat on the edge of the bed.

"Hey," he said.

She didn't turn to look at him. She made no specific move and yet there was a feeling of invitation. Or, at least he seemed to sense that.

He scooted closer to her.

"How can you still be here?" she said, her voice breaking.

"What do you mean?" he was sitting next to her now.

"I'm a monster. . ." She buried her face between her legs.

"Hey, you can't put that on yourself. . ." he gently moved her black hair behind her.

She raised her head and turned to look at him. Even in the dimly lit room he could see her tears still glistening on her face. It was still too dark to be able to read her expression. But if he had to guess, it was one of mingled horror of what she knows she did.

"I killed four people, John! How can I not put that on myself?!. . ." Her shoulders were shaking as she began to cry again.

John got on his knees and pulled Hitomi close to him in a loving embrace. He grabbed the team storage unit on Hitomi's belt ring and pressed the button. Her blood-stained uniform disappeared into the device and her original clothes, that Brittany gave her earlier in the morning, returned to its place on her body.

He did the same with his own storage unit and his simple Wrangler's jeans and black polo shirt returned.

He waited for Hitomi to settle down. When she finished crying he gently let her go.

"Do you want to talk about it?. . ." It was a clumsy question. Of course she didn't, but what other question could he possibly ask?

She didn't respond instantly, but she nodded her head slightly. "I don't even know what happened myself. . . It was weird, like a dream, you know?"

When he didn't make any type of response she continued, "I was about to draw my katana, but then I just blacked out. Then when I came to my senses, I-I-I. . ." she couldn't say it and shook her head.

They sat there on the bed in silence. It felt like an eternity before they spoke again.

"I'm a monster. . ." she repeated.

John shook his head, "you're not a monster, Hitomi," he said sweetly, "it was either you or them. It was self defense. Please don't put this on yourself. It's only going to make you feel worse. . ."

When she didn't say anything he continued.

"Everything dies." He said. "You, me, the others, plants and animals. We're all on a time limit. Those men you defended yourself against, their time was up. If nothing died, then the world would never be renewed."

They didn't say anything again.

Then she leaned against him. Maybe it was an unconscious act, a primal need for closeness deep in the night of imminent danger. If they were caught, Hitomi would no doubt face the death penalty. Everyone else would be facing a life sentence in a prison somewhere the public doesn't know existed.

Either way, her body was a solid warmth against his own. The reality of her was so vital, so alive.

He put his arms around her and she made a small sound of acceptance, or allowing, of pleasure.

"I'm so sorry. . . this is all my fault. Because of me, you and the others are now international fugitives. . . Maybe I should turn myself in-"

"No," he said. "You're not thinking right. You've just experienced a traumatic event and I can understand your choice. But you can't give up, not now. And we wouldn't betray you either. . ."

She didn't say anything.

They listened to the sound of helicopters flying by and over the small house. It didn't bother them as much as it should have.

After a long time he asked, "Are you afraid?"

"Of what?" Her voice was a pale whisper.

"Dying."

He looked at her. There were tears glittering like jewels on her face.

"No," was all she said.

She turned to him then, and took his face in her hands and kissed his lips.

John's eyes widened in shock. It was suddenly three hundred degrees too hot in the room. "H-Hitomi?"

She looked at him. Even in the dim light he could see and feel the intensity of her gaze.

"I'm cold, John," she said in _that _whisper of a voice. "Keep me warm."

They stood on the bed with their knees and they kissed. It was the softest, sweetest kiss that John had ever experienced. Their kissing turned from sweet to passionate as they both began to undress each other with sudden urgency, stripping away their clothes and tossing them aside.

It had to be a coincidence that the room was romantically lit with candles.

John felt hot as he witnessed Hitomi's nude figure.

Her body was ripe and voluptuous. He was thankful that there was little light. He was pretty sure his whole face was red. But it didn't bother him.

He drew her into the warm circle of his arms and they stood there on their knees on the bed and kissed for a few scalding moments.

Then they were down on the bed. Their bodies moved together with a familiarity and comfort as if they had known each other for years, yielding and receiving, offering and taking, sharing and plunging into that river of sweetness that has flowed since the dawn of time and will flow on until the stars are dark cinders. She buried her mouth against the hollow of his neck to muffle a scream of delight that was not from her sorrow, but an affirmation of renewed hope. They cried out when they came. Both of them wordless and panting. Sweat had covered their bodies.

They sweetly kissed each other and fell asleep soon after.

* * *

"Where are they?" Brandon asked impatiently, pacing the floor.

The others had made it to Sanctuary without any trouble. Chris and the twins were sitting on the couch. Chris's daughters were sitting in the kitchen at the dining table. His two eldest daughters were twins who are fifteen years old. His youngest daughter is only four years old. The eldest daughters are Janice and Michelle. The four year old is Pattyn. **(Author's Note: Pronounced like Payton). **

"Relax." Henry said.

"Relax?!" Brandon yelled. He pointed at the massive TV screen. "How can I relax?! They could be in serious trouble!"

"Hey, ease down on the yelling. We're all worried about the others." Derek said.

The TV screen displayed a breaking news report of the events in Rome. Charlie, Brittany, and John had their pictures on the screen displayed as suspects in the ongoing investigation. Hitomi, by all means, was safe from suspicion from the International Police.

Even though the "tragedy" occurred, the S4 League is still continuing its games. Touch down has been put on hold.

On screen, riots were breaking out on the streets of Rome. Fans of the Gladiators were outraged by the slaughter. Some of them took the microphones from reporters and yelled into it.

"If you're watching this Legionnaires, turn yourselves in, or else!"

Chris changed the channel to the movie channel.

_The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug _was airing. It was the scene where the Dwarves and Bilbo are escaping the Woodland Elves via barrel-riding on the river.

"I'm going to go find them-"

"No you're not." Chris stood up.

"-and you can't stop me." Brandon said. He ran for the private Teleportation Gate.

Christ tackled him before he even left the room. His daughters peeked into the room from the kitchen.

"You need to relax." He paused at each word for emphasis.

Brandon's tension slowly disintegrated as his breathing became calmer.

Chris got up and helped Brandon to his feet.

"Sorry. . . I'm just really worried for them." Brandon looked down in shame.

Chris placed a brotherly hand on his shoulder, "everything is going to be okay. They're going to be here soon."

They sat back on the couch and Chris's daughters all came to watch _The Hobbit _with them.

* * *

Bob and Kojuro walked into the bar in the resort.

The bar was packed with a holiday-weekend crowd and a give-piece band was playing down-and-dirty hip hop music. In what little space was available more than fifty people were dancing. Some women were grinding against their partners. Bob and Kojuro stopped at the edge of the dance floor. They each carried a bulging plastic shopping bag on which PROPERTY OF THE S4 LEAGUE was printed in blue. The bags were heavy and Kojuro struggled with them whereas they were mere feathers to Bob.

Some of the crowd noticed the two men and reacted in a variety of ways. Some gave them sober nods and smiles. Some raised their glasses to them. A few cheered at them because they knew who they were. Others avoided eye contact with on or the other and shifted away to be outside of whatever implied field of guilt emanated from the men. One very drunk woman curtsied to them with all of the elaborate grace of a tipsy lady of the court.

Bob and Kojuro smiled at her. They smiled at everyone.

They smiled and smiled and smiled.

A waitress came up to them, approaching with a nervous and tentative smile.

"Um, can I get you a table or. . .?" Her words faltered as she realized who they were. Working in a bar at a resort, she'd seen a thousand celebrities. Even Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie. But she had never actually seen members of the Executioners Team in person. It was a kind of a star-struck and yet a scary and weird moment for her.

It was a funny day to be weird.

That's how she saw it anyways.

What with all that was going on in Rome. The day had enough freakiness in it already. It was probably why so many people were out getting hammered. Not merely drinking, but guzzling the stuff.

She tried on a smile, hoping that it would somehow make her feel better.

But their smiles were bigger and brighter and totally. . .

Well. . . _weird _was the word that stuck in her head.

Another word occurred to her too.

Those smiles were _wrong._

Bob opened his bag and for a moment the waitress thought he was reaching for a gun. The news reports were still running through her head.

But then she saw what he had.

It was a water balloon. Bright red. With a happy face on it. He showed it to her and his grin widened.

Her smile flickered on again, though uncertainty kept it a low wattage. She thought she understood what was happening.

She worried that they were going to throw it everywhere and get everyone wet. Then get their asses kicked and there would be a big fight and cops would come and. . . and. . . The waitress's mind raced on and on at warp speed, working it out all the way to the point where she was out of work because the place was closed by the police and there were lawsuits from injured customers.

"Sir," she said, stepping close to Bob to make sure he heard her over the band's music, "you can't-"

And Bob hurled the water balloon high over her head. It struck the whirling blades of one of the bar's six ceiling fans and exploded.

But instead of water. . . what came out of the water balloon were large black specks.

One landed on the waitress's shoulder and it _moved. _She realized that it could've been a bug so she instinctively tried to swipe it away.

But it didn't go away. . . it DUG A HOLE in her body and crawled inside.

She screamed.

So did the other people who were there.

Bob and Kojuro laughed as they kept throwing balloons filled with the parasites. They were left untouched, courtesy of Ophelia.

Everyone was on the floor rolling and screaming as parasites overwhelmed them.

Then at one point, the screaming stopped. The rolling stopped. Even the parasites stopped.

The people got on their feet and they all looked at Bob and Kojuro. Their eyes had changed from normal human eye colors to something horrific.

Their eyes were pure black, like they were possessed by demons.

"Whoa. . ." Kojuro mused. "They actually look pretty terrifying." He laughed.

Bob laughed too, "Well, we can report this to the boss. The Virus test was a success and is ready to be tested on larger groups."

"Poor fuckers, they're under the control of whoever wields that wicked sword Ophelia had commissioned. The one with the fragment of the Lich King's sword."

"I know how it works. . ." Bob grunted. He plucked his cell phone out from his pocket and called Greg.

"Hey, boss. It worked."

"Well done," he said over the phone, "I'll be down there ASAP."

Bob and Kojuro waited and a thirty seconds later, Greg appeared in the doorway to the bar. He had a black plasma sword in his right hand. It glowed with an ominous green aura that sent chills down Bob's spine.

The people who were infected by the Virus immediately turned to Greg and stood there looking at him. Waiting for his command.

"Stay here while we come up with a plan."

The people who were infected smiled maliciously. It was creepy and terrifying. They all stayed where they were standing and snarled like beasts.

Greg laughed. "Some crazy motherfuckers aren't they?" He said as he walked with Bob and Kojuro to the private elevator.

Bob and Kojuro were still frozen by what they saw. The smiling of the infected sent jolts of horror down to the cellars of their souls. It was until Greg snapped his fingers that they regained their focus.

"Oh. . yeah, they are pretty crazy." Kojuro made a nervous laugh.

"Come on, let's give Ophelia the news. She's going to be pleased."

Greg didn't notice the slow and gradual change that was occurring to him. The Lich King's essence was slowly draining him.

* * *

Hitomi awakened to the sound of loud vehicles driving by. She pulled the bed sheets away from her body and got up from the bed.

She carefully pulled a curtain slightly to the side to peek outside.

Military and police vehicles were cruising all over the streets.

But the thought of that vanished when she saw the faint reflection of herself in the window. She then realized she was naked and quickly picked up her undergarments and clothes. She put them on and shook John.

"Hey, wake up." She whispered.

"Nnngh. . ." He groaned. He slowly got up from where he was laying and blinked a couple times.

He got up from the bed, making Hitomi blush. He was still naked too.

He picked up his clothes and slid them on and peeked out the window.

His sleepy eyes suddenly flared open, "We gotta go, now."

He grabbed his gear.

Hitomi put the gun belt around her and the magazine belt around her leg.

She hesitated, staring at the katana lying on the wall.

Images of the dead mean flared in her mind and she began shaking.

"Come on." John said opening the door to the bedroom.

Hitomi pushed her fear of the katana aside and grabbed it and slung it behind her.

They quickly exited the house quietly and faded from cover to cover as vehicles and patrols swept by them.

Hitomi saw John tap his ear piece.

"Charlie, where are you." He said.

She heard him speak in her ear piece. "Glad to hear your voice. We're about twenty yards away from the Teleportation Gate. Where the hell are you guys?"

"We're approximately two miles from the Teleportation Gate." John said.

"Alright, make your way to our coordinates. Make it fast, I think the guards are about to switch shifts."

"Alright."

John waved for me to come closer.

"How are you holding up?" He asked.

"I'm fine, just a little shaken still from last night's battle. . ."

"Still bothering you?"

"Yeah, but we'll save that for another time. Right now we need to get out here."

"Right."

John led the way past patrols and guard towers. He seemed to know the city layout very well.

After a while he said, "We're almost there."

"How do you know?"

"The number of patrols and guards are increasing."

They came around a corner and quickly hid back behind the wall as a patrol vehicle sped by. It didn't see them.

Ahead of them was the large Teleportation Gate. It was heavily guarded with military vehicles and towers with mounted machine guns. You couldn't get this kind of protection inside the White House perimeter in the United States.

"There they are." John pointed to the two almost impossible to see silhouettes. Then she saw the faint glimpse of two heads with blonde hair.

"We're here guys." John said.

"About time," Charlie said into the team channel.

"How are we going to do this?" John asked.

"We're still thinking about that." Brittany said.

John surveyed the area. There were a couple of sniper posts, random patrols around the perimeter and two guard towers on either side of the Teleportation Gate.

"We need a distraction." Brittany said.

"No, we can't risk-"

"John. Just stop." Brittany said. You could sense the frustration in her tone. "It's our only option."

Hitomi heard him grunt in anger, "Fine, I'll-"

"No, I will." She said.

"Britt, no" Charlie said.

"Look, before you guys say anything, I'm the one that has the best chance of making out of this alive."

"Britt, please don't do this. ." It was Hitomi who said that.

"Hitomi. . ." She sighed, "I have to, this is for you. I'm sorry that we didn't get a chance to get to know each other better-"

"Stop. . " Hitomi was on the verge of crying.

Brittany sighed, "We don't have time for this, I promise I'll make it, okay?"

No one said anything.

Hitomi tried her best to stay focused. One false move and it could be the end of her.

"Alright, I'm gonna move into position. Tell me when it's clear, John."

". . . alright." He watched the snipers and the patrols. Then he saw an opening for her to move.

"Go."

Hitomi saw Brittany run out of cover and dive into the shadows of an alley.

"Alright, when the patrols and guards move away, don't wait for me. Just go."

"Britt-" Before Charlie or John could say anything, there was three loud pops from a gun. The guards and the patrols instantly sprung into action and converged on the source of the noise.

"Go!" Brittany yelled into the channel.

John and Hitomi ran out of cover the same time Charlie vaulted over the short wall. The guards on the towers instantly saw him and turned their guns to him. He shot four times with his magnum. Two shots, center mass, for each guard. They fell backwards in pain.

The snipers then turned their attention to all three of us as they saw us close the Teleportation Gate.

"Enter in the code, Charlie!" John said.

"I'm trying, shut the hell up!"

Hitomi saw the snipers yell into their communicators and vehicles instantly appeared around the corners of the plaza. They were converging on the Teleportation Gate.

"Hurry up!" John yelled.

"Just a sec. . . . and. . . there!"

The Teleportation Gate flared blue as it began its process.

The glass around the Teleportation Gate began to crack as bullets were hammering at it.

Hitomi held John's hand tightly.

After a few seconds, that felt like an eternity, the sight of the vehicles and soldiers shooting at them disappeared instantly and Hitomi saw a huge mansion before her.

* * *

Brittany ran through the streets of Rome, dodging guards and patrols alike.

She knew that she was going to be killed, but she sure as hell was not going down without a fight. She ducked as a guard rounded the corner and pointed his assault rifle at her. She fired two rounds from the magnum Charlie gave her. The guard slumped over and fell face-first onto the floor.

She kept running.

_Damn it!_

She stopped as she was surrounded by military and police alike.

"Drop your weapon and put your hands behind your head! You are surrounded!"

"No shit," she muttered. She threw the magnum away and dropped to her knees and placed her hands behind her head.

Then everything was a distant memory for her.

Being hand cuffed by rough hands.

Thrown into the back of a police cruiser.

And finally, tossed into a jail cell to wait for a trial hearing.

It didn't take long.

An hour later a giant of a man led her to a private room where two lawyers were waiting for her.

She had her hand cuffs removed at the beckoning of her lawyers.

The door shut behind her.

* * *

"Oh no. . ." Hitomi gasped.

Months had passed as they awaited news on Brittany on CBS News.

The media was covering the court hearing in the United States District Court.

The bailiff opened the court hearing.

* * *

Her lawyers told her to wear a pretty suit and show a little leg, maybe a hint of cleavage. Brittany spent a lot of time on her makeup, and when she stepped into the courtroom she was sure that no one even noticed the hand cuffs. They were looking at one of the prettiest women in the room, and that was a tactic. It was, the lawyer assured her, the last card they had left to play.

The judge had spent a lot of time during the trial looking at Brittany's legs. The judge was a well-known hound dog and had a useful track record in light sentencing for pretty women.

She smiled at him, not to overt a flirtation of course,as she sat down at the defense table. Her lawyers, both attractive women, sat on either side of her. They, too, were showing a little skin. Skirts and tailored jackets. Probably push-up bras too that Brittany didn't need.

Brittany was well aware that nothing else was left to try and free her.

Standing there, listening to the foreman deliver eight guilty verdicts, was the toughest thing Brittany had ever done. She wanted to cry. She wanted to scream. She wanted to be with the others who were still waiting for her. Before that day she'd been certain that it wasn't possible to feel more completely vulnerable and afraid than she already had.

Through the booking phase, that awful first night in jail after speaking to her lawyers, the months in federal custody, and the endless taunts of predators abounded near her as she tried to sleep. Her looks and breeding were no protection at all. She felt regret for leaving her friends. The trial itself made her feel vulnerable.

When the foreman said she was guilty of human rights violations, she wanted to leap at him and strangle him to death. It was not actually true. Even if Hitomi had been brought here on court, it still wasn't true. It was self defense.

Hence the many other charges which she was convicted for.

Which brought her to today.

The sentencing.

Her looks and the judge's poor personal judgement when it came to women. It was the only card left to play.

The judge sat behind his bench and listened to the arguments of the prosecution and the defense. Brittany thought her lawyers were particularly eloquent, and the judge even smiled as he watched the younger of the two attorneys jiggle her way to the lectern. The cuffs had been removed before the proceedings began.

The judge then turned to Brittany.

"Would the accused like to make a statement?"

"Yes, your honor," said Brittany, rising slowly to her feet. Exactly the way her lawyers showed her to do.

"Your honor," Brittany began, "I understand the gravity and consequences of what I did. I really do. But I didn't kill those men in the stadium in cold blood. It was self defense. I've been a good girl since the day I was born. The S4 League is my life and I played by the rules. So I say this again, I'm innocent of all charges that were brought up to me as guilty." She paused and gave a brave smile. "Thank you."

There was a frown on the judge's face. Was it doubt about the convictions? Was it doubt about whatever sentence he'd already decided before today? As she sat down, each of her attorneys took one of her hands. When she cut a look at the prosecutors, they looked worried.

The judge was silent for a long time, his lips pursed, chin sunk on his chest. Finally, he looked at Brittany and nodded.

"Very well," he said. "Bearing in mind your clean record, the evidence and the remarks made here this morning, I am prepared to pronounce a sentence."

He cited the verdicts and the applicable laws and statutes.

Then he smiled at her. "Miss Claire, **(Author's Note: I made her last name Claire.) **you are a very attractive and charming woman. Your skills and potential are, as has been pointed out, a powerful weapon capable of doing good and bad to others."

Brittany brightened, and both of the hands holding hers tightened.

"However, said the judge, "when a person puts self-interests in front of murder, and personal gain before the general welfare, then that person has thrown away any grace or consideration she might otherwise have."

Brittany was despaired, he still believed the lies that were told to him.

She did not hear anything else the judge said.

Her mind simply shut down.

There were only vague memories. She remembered screaming and weeping. People putting hands on her. The cold steel of the handcuffs. Shouts.

Red madness.

It was only later that she was able to assemble the facts. The horrible, impossible facts.

The judge had given her the maximum sentence for each charge.

One hundred and sixty-five years.

Life.

And death, because she would never get out.

Never see her friends again.

They had to drag her from the court as she flailed and lashed out.

* * *

Hitomi wept on John's chest.

Chris's face was tangled in pure anger.

Charlie had his face in his hands.

The twins left the room.

Brandon collapsed on his knees and wept like a baby. He always had a thing for Brittany, but never had the chance to man up and confess to her.

Their friend was gone. Forever.

And there was nothing they could do about it.

At one point during their sorrow, Chris threw the TV remote at the screen and both the remote and the screen exploded into millions of fragments.

"MOTHERFUCKERS! THEY DON'T KNOW SHIT! SHE'S INNOCENT!" It took all of the guys to pin Chris to the ground to keep him from going on a rampage.

After his rage disappeared he openly wept on the floor. The guys all left him alone as his daughters tried their best to comfort him.

John didn't weep, but tears were flowing from his eyes as he held Hitomi in a loving embrace.

* * *

**One Month Later. . .**

Brittany Claire sat in her cell and waited for her life to end. Wished for it to all be over. They had her on suicide watch.

Fair enough. If there was any chance for a quick way out, she'd take it.

Living in hell was not living.

This was going to be hell. Of that she had no doubt. The judgement against Brittany Claire had been so severe.

One hundred and sixty-five years.

The horrible joke was that there was a chance for parole after seventy years.

A chance.

By the she would be in her nineties. Even in the unlikely even that she was still alive, freedom would not be freedom at all. No, the judge had given her a death sentence. Life without any visitors. Soon they would transfer her to a maximum security prison whose location is still to be determined.

Every time she heard a footfall outside her cell, Brittany dreaded what it could mean. Lately there was bad news and worse news.

The only blessing, however small, was that the cliche of aggressive sexual abuse in the showers hadn't happened. But Brittany always mentally thought "yet" every time.

Then her thoughts turned to Brandon. The man who looked like a Korean Pop Star. She had a crush on him since the day Charlie formed the Legionnaires team.

What's there to not like about him? Well, other than his perverted personality. She saw lots of good things with him. She also knew that he had a thing for her too, but she waited for him to make the move.

She now realized it was a big mistake, being in this cell. She would never know the joy an wonders of love. Never feel his touch, ever again.

She wept at the thought.

A moment later there was the distinctive sound of shoes on the concrete floor. Not the sound of the heels of her lawyers. No, these were solid, flat sounds.

Then she heard the clang of cold steel as the security doors rolled open.

A shadow was there, distorted by the lights behind it.

Not a woman's shadow, though.

But mannish.

A few moments later a large man stepped into view. She felt relieved to see it was a prison guard.

"Prisoner Claire," said the man. Not as a question, but in a flat statement. "On your feet."

"Wh-what?" stammered Claire.

Then she saw that he had a bucket in one of his hands.

The next moment she looked closer to the man's face.

Her heart sank.

It was Bob from the Executioners Team.

_How did he get in here?!_

He sighed, "I wish that I could have _fun _with you before you die." He leaned on the word _fun _as he said it.

"But, the boss wants you dead. Sorry, sweet heart."

Then he hurled the bucket at her through the opening. A gleaming, stinking deluge of golden liquid slapped her in the face, blinding her, gagging her.

Brittany realized in horror that the liquid covering her was gasoline.

She never heard the strike of the match.

Never saw the flames.

Brittany's screams filled the whole prison.


End file.
